Productivity of tuber crops under alley cropping of tropical trees

Abstract

An experiment was conducted in the coconut gardens of Agricultural Research Station, Mannuthy during the period from May 1987 to February 1988 to evaluate the productivity of various tuber crops under the alleys of coconut (Cocoa nucifera L)+ eucalyptus (Eucalyptus teraticornis), coconut+subabul (Leucaens leucocephala (Lamk) de Wit, coconut+glyricidia (Glyricidia maculata) and coconut + ailanthus (Ailanthus tryphysa Roxb). The tuber crops raised in the alleys were amorphophallus (Amorphophallus campapulatus (Roxb) B1. ex Decne); Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz), colocasia (Colocasia esculenta L) and greater yam (Dioscorea alata L). The experiment was laid out in randomised block design in plots of size 7.5 x 7.5 m and replicated 5 times.